Cellist
Abby Newton has long been associated
with two of Scotlands
premier creative artists, singer
Jean Redpath and fiddler Alasdair
Fraser, having toured with
them in Scotland and throughout
the US. The cello was traditionally
the favoured instrument in
Scotland for accompanying dance
fiddlers - Abby brings the
instrument back into the fold
with this uplifting debut album,
presenting the cello at the
rhythmic heart of traditional
Scottish tunes.

"She
has been recording with the
singer Jean Redpath since
the late Seventies but only
now makes her solo album
debut. And what a beauty
it is ... Newton
shows she can take jaunty
strathspeys and Shetland
reels in her bowing stride
..."—The Scotsman

Crossing
To Scotland - Celtic Music
For The Cello by
Abby Newton has just been
released by Mel Bay Publications.
This 32 page book includes
all melodies from the Culburnie
records release Crossing
to Scotland (CUL110,
on CD and cassette) which
features a cello-centered
ensemble including Alasdair
Fraser, Paul Machlis, Kim
Robertson, Al Pettaway, David
Hornung, and other fine musicians.
Transcriptions include chords
for each piece. Book cost
$9.95.

1

Catskil
Mountain Air * Wagon Wheel
Notch(David
Hornung)
David heard me playing Scottish music when we
met 12 years ago and was inspired to write the
slow air in this set. Later it was paired with
the second tune, named for a mountain terrain
we see from our window.

2

Drunk
at Night, Dry in the Morning
This tune can be found
in the Niel Gow Collection. Niel
Gow was one of the most important Scottish fiddlers
of the 18th century. In addition to being
a well-known performer, he wrote and collected
hundreds of fiddle tunes of which many are still
commonly played. This lively tune is one
of them. At that time the cello played
accompaniment to fiddles in dance bands. Niel
Gow's brother Donald often accompanied him on
the cello.

3

Loftus Jones (O'Carolan)
Turlough O'Carolan was
an itinerant Irish harper
who wrote music in Ireland around the same time
that Bach was composing in Germany. Here
its beauty is enhanced by Alasdair's Baroque
countermelody.

4

Tune
for Mairead and Anna Ni
Mhaonaigh (Daithi
Sproule)
Daithi wrote this as a
birthday tribute to Mairead
and Anna. When I heard the tune on Liz
Carroll's album its warmth and lyricism convinced
me that it would sound good on the cello.

5

Sister
Jean
This is an ancient tune
from the Shetland Islands.
Its haunting melody rides
upon an unusual chordal
structure.

6

Tarbolton Lodge
Also known as Hatton Burn, this reel appears
in the Skye Collection.

7

Crossing
to Ireland
This tune appears as a
slow air in the key of
A flat minor in the Simon
Fraser Collection. In
Cape Breton I heard it played as a waltz and
was captured by its lilt.

8

The
Earl of Dalhousie's Happy
Return to ScotlandThis tune can be found
in the Niel Gow Collection.

9

Da
Full Rigged Ship * Da
New Rigged ShipTom Anderson taught
me these tunes one cold Spring
evening while sitting by the
coal fire in his Lerwick, Shetland
home. The uneven, rocking
rhythm of Da Full Rigged Ship
suggests the motion of an old
sailing vessel out on the bumpy
North Sea. Da New Rigged
Ship shows off its new sails
in this bouncy reel.

10

Independence Trail (Alasdair
Fraser)
This tune floated around in my head for months
after first hearing Alasdair play it at a recording
session.

11

Heroes
of Longhope (Ronnie
Aimes)
I had the pleasure of studying
Scottish Highland music
with Angus Grant a few
years back and this was
one of the tunes that went
right to my heart. Aimes
wrote the tune to commemorate the heroic men
who lost their lives trying to save their fellow
fisherman after their boat capsized in a storm
in the Atlantic Ocean.

12

O'Carolan's Draught (O'Carolan)
I think of this piece as
a "country cousin" to
the Bach cello suites that were written in the
same period. Our arrangement is reminiscent
of the trio sonata of that era.

13

Cropie's
Strathspey (P.
Milne) * Spootiskerry (Ian
Burns) * Sleep
Soond in da Morning * Lasses
Trust in ProvidenceThe first
tune in this set
can be found in The
Fiddle Music of Scotland
by James Hunter. The
last three are all
from the Shetland
Islands.

14

Gin Ye Kiss My Wife, I'll
Tell the Minister
This is an ancient tune
that I learned from the
Caledonian Companion by Alastair Hardie. His
notes indicate that a Mr John Stuart of Keith
in Banffshire played it for Scott Skinner and
that it can be found in his Harp and Claymore
Collection. It was originally a Highland
dance tune that evolved into a slow air over
the centuries.